Genre: Realism Word count: 99 Come along and join in with Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers. Rochelle asks that we use the photo prompt (© Brenda Cox) and limit our words to 100 or less. Click on the frog to read more stories.
The Bus
Honey Humberg had waited for this day all her life.
She’d worked and saved to build the “Humberg Bus” from scratch, designing, commissioning and assembling it, part by part. She painted it in homage to the DIY hippies that were her inspiration, free thinkers and dreamers all. She would tour Europe showcasing her singing talent and the world would fall at her feet.
In the square, the crowd cheered when the Humberg Bus arrived.
They left when she began singing.
“How much you want for the bus?” a man asked.
“One billion pounds,” she said bitterly, turning away.
“Done.”
This Jolly Beggar 
Achieving your dream isn’t always as good as pursuing it. Well done, Dora!
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Thank you, Neil.
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The man just wanted the bus.
Hope it’s not a plan to end her singing career!
Like the interesting idea of roaming around in your own bus & performing!
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Anita,
It was a great plan if only it had worked out! Thank you.
pax,
dora
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What happens when you commoditize/compartialize the ephemeral, free-thinking/free form. Is a billion pounds enough to pay for shattered dreams? I’d take it; so far shattered dreams haven’t earned me a dime. Well done!
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Lorraine,
That’s the sum of her disillusionment, in more ways than one! Thank you.
pax,
dora
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Aw, so sad Dora! 😦
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Ain’t it though? And all that’s left is money.
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Great story, Well done.
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Thank you, Mason.
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At least she made some money from the bus!
I immediately thought of the movie Florence Foster Jenkins when I read this!
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I’ll have to look that one up. :>)
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You should, it’s a hilarious true story and Meryl Streep plays her so well!
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Will watch over the weekend! Thanks for the suggestion, Keith. I’m always on the lookout for a comedy that’s not just vulgarity dressed up.
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For a billion pounds, I’d sell anything I owned. Sounds too good to be true.
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She can always build another bus after all!
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Well done. Now if I could only sing well. 🙂 “Done” indeed.
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Thanks Bill.
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You’re welcome.
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Laughing and crying here at the same time. Sure, she’ll be rich now, but her dreams are shattered. Mabe she can proceed like Florence Foster Jenkins now? Great story, Dora.
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Thank you, Gabi. Some things can be monetized. Others, like dreams, not so much, not for all. (Need to look up that movie!)
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I haven’t seen it yet either, but read and heard about it, sounds like fun.
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Kind of a heart-breaker. Poor girl, someone should have told her she wouldn’t make it with her singing 🙂
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Usually there’s no shortage of naysayers.
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Dear Dora,
At least the bus was a sensational success. Good one.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you, Rochelle. Clearly she did not leave empty-handed!
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So sad her singing dreams were dashed. Maybe with the money she can make a new dream come true. Lovely writing, Dora. =)
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Thank you, Brenda. The world’s her oyster now, just not a singing one!
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It appears that her talents lie more in the area of vehicular renovations!
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Plain as the nose on your face, except it wasn’t!
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Sell the bus and take singing lessons and prove them all wrong….
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Singing lessons?! What a novel idea, but then her singing would no longer be authentic, with all the rough edges, lack of finesse, hippie-ness and all. Her very SELF is at stake. And they just want her bus! O H D A L E. The irony of it A L L. 😉
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Ah well… I was thinking maybe her voice wasn’t as good as she thought it was 😉
Poor thing! Not fun to have your very SELF at stake!
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Nah. The A N G S T provides the fun maybe. 😀
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True 🙂
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Dora, I enjoyed your inventive, whimsical story where almost anything can happen.
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Thank you, Lisa. I’m glad you liked it. 🙂
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You’re welcome.
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Thanks Dora for this insight into forgotten times. Stories seem to be split between the bus and carousel. Interesting what each notices first.
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Thanks for reading, Susan. I’ve noticed that split – how interesting!
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Ouch!
Well she followed her dream and it sounds like she’s quite a wiz with rebuilding the bus. Well written
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Thank you, Laurie. Sometimes plans go awry!
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Well at least the bus was a success. Always a silver lining.
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Hopefully she’ll just switch “career” tracks. Thanks for reading, Sandra.
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Success requires sustained effort. Honey put all her effort into building a bus; perhaps she should have put more effort into singing if she wanted to be a singer! You, yourself, have clearly put your effort into writing…are you any good at building buses?!
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Exactly. Honey’s problem is a problem of immaturity: the desire to be authentic and unpolished, uncircumscribed by convention, in her case with her musical ability, though ironically she had to follow the conventional rules of engineering and mechanics to build the bus. Unfortunately for her, in the long run folks prefer more than just the raw material!
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Great story, Dora. Heartbreaking for her.
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Thank you, Adele.
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You’re welcome 🙂
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